The National Service Secretariat (NSS) has confirmed that no national service person has been posted to Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region this year.
According to the NSS, the decision not to post any individual to the community had nothing to do with the gruesome murder of Major Maxwel Mahama, who was mistaken for an armed robber and wickedly killed by some of residents of Denkyira-Obuasi.
A Deputy Executive Director of the NSS in charge of Finance and Administration, Miss Gifty Oware-Aboagye, in an interview with the DAILY HERITAGE, said the decision not to post anyone to Denkyira-Obuasi was not related to the lynching of the soldier, but because the community is not a business district where organisations exist to require the services of service personnel.
Gifty Oware-Aboagye, Deputy Executive Director, Finance and Administration She added that despite having a basic school in the area, the nature of the school did not require the services of national service personnel.
Miss Oware clarified further that service personnel have, however, been posted to some communities in the Denkyira Traditional Area, inclding villages close to the community where the lynching of Major Mahama took place.
The Denkyira Traditional Area has suburbs such as Denkyira Diaso, Denkyira Jukwa and Denkyira Mfuom.
“We have posted some people to the Denkyira Traditional Area, but we have not posted anyone to Denkyira-Obuasi itself.
“Denkyira is a very big place; we post personnel to health support, education support, agric support and others but if there is no work to do in an area, the secretariat can’t post people there,” she added.
The Deputy Director was responding to concerns of some parents whose children have been posted to the Denkyira area and not necessarily Denkyira-Obuasi to serve the country.
One of the agitated parents, Mr Thomas Quaoo, told the DAILY HERITAGE that he would not allow his son to serve in any community near Denkyira-Obuasi.
Mr Quaoo disclosed to the paper that stories told about the people of Denkyira, coupled with the lynching of Major Mahama, were the reasons why he would not allow his son to travel there for his service.
“I have spent so much in educating my child to the university level and national service posting comes and look at where he has been posted to. I can’t let him go because I’m scared that what happened to the Major can happen to him,” he added.
Reacting to the concerns of the parents, Ms Oware described the reactions of some parents of service personnel posted to the Denkyira Traditional Area as unfair.
She said one incident in one small community in a large area could not be used to stereotype the entirety of the people of Denkyira as wicked, as the size of the Denkyira area is so big that it is divided into two different constituencies.
“I think it’s unfair for parents to react that way, when someone goes to Agbogbloshie or Kejetia to patronise something and gets killed there, that doesn’t mean that no one should go and work in that area if there is a duty call. If it is because of insecurity, these parents should relax because you can even die in your own room,” the Deputy Executive Director of NSS said.
Meanwhile, Ms Oware has disclosed that the Secretariat is making efforts to make transportation available to service personnel posted to the Northern part of the country to reduce the burden of personnel.
She added that despite the fact that some personnel are not satisfied with where they have been posted to, the response had generally been good because for the first time in the posting of service personnel there had not been long queues in front of the secretariat for a change in service location as had usually been the case in previous years.
The Service Director said the sensitisation exercise embarked upon by the Secretariat might have been responsible for the calm nature of this year’s posting.
<<Print>>